Comfortable Monday G&GRs, and I hope you had an exquisite weekend to get better from that quick work week, with loads of rugby on to maintain you entertained. One of many decreased rounds this weekend, however that didn’t cease the spectacle of rugby. The Hong Kong Sevens have been on, nonetheless, I received’t be protecting it, as I didn’t get time to look at it, and to be fully trustworthy I do know little or no about Sevens and solely have performed one sport of it in my life. We may also take a look at the place the SRP 24 ladder sits. And to wrap it up we’ll take a look at Western Drive’s craziest and most disappointing recruitment to this point.
So sit down and seize a double shot ☕ of that fantastic magic liquid, and let’s get into it.
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Tremendous Rugby Pacific 2024 – Spherical Six
Auckland Blues 50 defeated Western Drive 3
What can solely described as a totally sh1thouse Twiggy Forrest All Stars got a ‘six of the most effective trouser down old skool flogging’ in Auckland on Friday evening. They have been unable to cross the road for a single attempt, and their solely factors got here from a penalty. The Auckland forwards have been simply too highly effective, it was like watching child seals get clubbed to loss of life.
The Blues managed to dot down 8 tries within the sport, with halfback Funaki getting a double. However the actuality was, that the forwards have been the defining level on this sport. Each time there was a scrum, the Blues forwards overpowered the Western Forces pack at will, incomes scrum penalty after scrum penalty. Enabling kicks for contact, rolling mauls, attempt, rinse, and repeat. Going to Oranges up 28-3.
Hoping that Simon Cron would be capable to encourage his boys, or alter the sport plan sufficient to cease having his forwards dismantled within the second half proved to be wishful considering. Hoskins Sotutu and Corey Evans each grabbed meat pies for the Blues inside 5 minutes of the second half commencing.
If there was any resistance earlier than, it was definitely gone after that with the Drive protection turning into fully passive and ineffective. Lacking a staggering 28 tackles within the sport. This cements the Drive to the underside of the ladder.
Melbourne Rebels 41 defeated Fiji Drua 20
In what turned out to be an anti-climatic sport in some regards and a stunner in others, the strong efficiency by the Melbourne Rebels of their victory over the Fiji Drua might find yourself having monumental impacts on the rest of the season. In a sport that had extra mind explosions than a Kurt Cobain autobiography, the Fijian’s self-discipline went out the window in utter type.
Fijian Drua coach Mick ‘The Kick’ Byrne apologised to Fijian followers for his workforce’s appalling self-discipline and mind explosions shedding two gamers to Shiraz’s naughty nook. At one stage the Drua have been all the way down to 13 gamers for over quarter-hour, and pretty much as good because the Fijians are, they weren’t ok to carry out the fast-finishing Melbournes Rebels with 2 gamers warming the pine. Initially, the Drua have been main 20-8 simply in need of half-time, however then the wheels drastically fell off. The primary serve of cheddar cheese for Fiji enabled Melbourne to re-enter the sport, from what was wanting like a little bit of a spanking coming their means. Main as much as the Rebels managing to attain 33 unanswered factors and taking the choccies. The Rebels confirmed self-discipline and a strong sport plan to counter and disrupt the Fijian’s type, with strong outings from Carter Gordon, Louwrens, and a robust look off the bench for Taniela Tupou.
However this sport shall be remembered for the entire lack of self-discipline from the Fijians. Elbowing one other participant to the again of the pinnacle in entrance of the referump is rarely going to finish properly. And it didn’t for Frank Lomani, who has been having a surprising season to date to this point. However I’m fairly positive he’s going to have a couple of extra weeks on the pine. As properly Jone Koroiduadua getting a Pink for a ‘fairly weak’ try at a head-butt, the Fijian’s evening was over.
While, under no circumstances does this creator endorse acts of thuggery like this, to be trustworthy, there’s a small diploma of sympathy there for the pissed off Fijians! Damon Murphy isn’t my favorite of whistle-blowers, and his interpretation of the breakdown was fairly common at finest. Permitting gamers to wash out properly previous the breakdown and interfering with the 9. The Fijian gamers raised this with Muprhy quite a lot of occasions in the course of the sport, and but he did nothing. The Fijians turned pissed off by this, and Melbourne having famous Frank Lomani’s risky nature from the sport towards the Drive, the place Lomani and Nic ‘The Lip’ White danced the tango a couple of occasions, determined that they have been going to push his buttons. This along side unconfirmed ‘Fijian sledging’ (allegedly racist in nature) from reportedly each the group and different gamers, Lomani misplaced his crackers and lashed out.
Don’t get me fallacious, Melbourne deserved to win this sport and have been the higher workforce. However Murphy’s referumping of this sport was inconsistent and on this creator’s opinion lopsided. I’d love to listen to the G&GR’s peeps’ view on this one.
Waikato Chiefs 68 defeated Moana Pasifika 12
The Chiefs via the brutal victory over Moana Pasifika, have proved that with D-Mac operating the present they’re a really completely different beast. They smacked down the MPs 68-12, coming again exhausting after their stunning loss to the Canterbury Crusaders.
The Chiefs began properly and actually dominated possession and territory all through the sport. controlling Moana Pasifika. D-Mac demonstrated his persistence, management, and talent to steer his workforce with immense expertise and imaginative and prescient. On high of this, he booted 9 from 9 to start out with after which fluffed his strains on his final kick of the sport, proving that cheeky little smile earlier than he kicks doesn’t all the time work.
The second half began getting ugly for Moana Pasifika, with the Chiefs being in whole management and searching like they might simply dot them down at any time when they needed to. It began to appear like a coaching run for the Chiefs. Moana Pasifika has important work to do in the event that they wish to scrape themselves off the decrease realms of the desk.
ACT Brumbies 40 defeated NSW Waratahs 16
The Pet Killers have delivered a complete victory over the hapless Waratahs 40-16 in Canberra, making the Tahs appear like a D-grade native workforce. Sorry, I retract that, that’s an insult to all of the D-Grade native sides on the market that battle exhausting and present some expertise.
The Tahs began off moderately within the first half of the sport, defending properly notably for the primary quarter of the sport. But it surely was ‘Massive Sideshow Bob’ who opened up the sport for Larkham’s Ponies, going via Tane ‘Sloth’ Edmed like he was a turnstile and banging down a 5-pointer.
Though the Tahs solely trailed by 3 factors at oranges, their expertise, self-discipline, and defence capitulated and the Brumbies began to ‘convey the hammer down’ on the hapless tarts. Though it wasn’t all one-way site visitors with the Tarts managing to get a attempt on the board on the 65-minute mark via Charlie Gamble ( who was one of many Tah’s least unhealthy gamers).
Nevertheless, from that time, it was one-way site visitors, with the Ponies via Corey Toole and Charlie Cale demonstrating that velocity and energy rule supreme. The Tah’s season continued to spiral downwards for the remainder of the sport. And in one other unhealthy piece of luck for the Tahs, Angus Bell suffered an harm to his. The identical foot that affected his final season.
The Brumby’s begin was a little bit sluggish, however they pulled themselves collectively and their rhythm and momentum got here collectively, notably within the second half. The Tahs alternatively regarded good within the first 15-20 minutes after which slowly however slowly fell aside. One must say that their season is properly and really over.
Tremendous Rugby Pacific 2024 – Ladder
There have been a number of massive modifications to the ladder, however an excessive amount of can’t be learn into these because of the split-round system that Tremendous Rugby Pacific utilises. this may begin to even itself out because the spherical winds out. However let’s simply say, that the underside three, properly actually the underside 4 are a really correct illustration. With solely the Crusaders having a lot of an opportunity to dig themselves out of there. The Thas, Western Drive, and MP are prone to keep there for the remainder of the season.
Western Drive – What the #$%& are you guys considering?
Effectively, there have been rumours of it a few weeks in the past, however low and behold the least possible workforce (for my part) to signal Kutley ‘Gilbert’ Beale have performed so. By way of an harm to the reward to Monday information articles Harry Potter, the Western Drive have signed probably the most controversial participant in Australian rugby on a short-term contract.
Longtime G&GR readers will know that I’m not the largest fan of Kurtey Beale. I take into account him to be not probably the most expert of gamers. though he could be scintillating in assault, Kurtley is among the worst defenders in rugby historical past. And this isn’t together with his off-field incidents, which I can’t record right here, as a result of I’m not positive our back-end servers can record all of them. However let’s simply all agree he’s a famend shite bag of ocean-going selection.
I genuinely don’t see what the upside in it’s for the Western Drive. It’s a large danger culturally to convey one of many worst-behaved gamers in Australian rugby historical past into your workforce atmosphere. At 35 his expertise, velocity, and capabilities are waning. Regardless of what the crew from Stan Rugby and the Shouty Web site say, I believe this can be a very backward step for the Western Drive and one which I believe is simply going to trigger them extra issues.
Anyway, that’s sufficient for this Monday. Over to you G&GRs, have at it.